This invention relates to the use of flours which possess large amounts of amylose in batter mix compositions and the improved crispness provided to breaded and non-breaded convenience foodstuffs which are coated with the batter mix, pre-fried, frozen, and then later cooked in a microwave oven.
Batter coated fried foods have a broad appeal. Among the most popular batter coated foods are fried chicken and fish as well as other meat products, however, a wide variety of other foods, such as vegetables, and even fruits can be coated and then cooked by frying. Deep-fried food batters, whether for use with fresh or frozen foods, consist primarily of farinaceous materials such as starches and/or flours along with other optional ingredients such as egg solids, baking powder, cream of tartar, preservatives, seasonings, coloring matter and milk solids. These mixtures are combined with water so as to obtain a desired coating viscosity whereupon they are applied to the food ordinarily by means of a dip, spray or cascade technique. Before frying, the batter coated food may be coated with a breading such as corn meal, cracker crumbs, bread crumbs or the like if so desired.
Because of the great popularity of batter coated fried foods, there are presently a number of batter formulations and coating procedures. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. Re. 27,531 to Murray et al. reissued on Dec. 12, 1972 which describes the use of amylose, obtained either from the fractionation of whole starch or from starch composed of at least 55% amylose, in coating deep-fried potato products. High amylose starch is useful as a coating material for foodstuffs due to its ability to provide uniform films which, if fried, aid in reducing oil absorption and provide crispness to the foodstuff as well.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,052,545 issued on Sept. 4, 1962 to J. Ducharme et al. describes a batter mix for breaded deep-fried foodstuffs comprising a chemically inhibited starch product. A wide variety of starches crosslinked to an acceptable level are said to provide a high degree of adhesion between the breading and the food piece to be coated while possessing strong cohesive strength during deep-frying.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,208,851 issued on Sept. 28, 1965 to J. Antinori et al. also describes batter mixes for breaded deep-fried foodstuffs which possess improved adhesion and cohesion when starches subjected to a dry oxidation process are employed in the batter mix.
In order to obtain a fried product, a batter-coated food piece must be cooked in the presence of frying oils or melted fat at elevated temperatures. Foods thus prepared may be immediately consumed or may be packaged and quick frozen so that the ultimate consumer may prepare the foodstuff merely by reheating. In many cases, the food may only receive a partial cooking or "pre-frying" at this point, whereupon it is packaged and quick frozen with the cooking of the pre-fried frozen foodstuff completed at a later time by the consumer.
Many batters have been formulated to prepare frozen, uncooked batter coated or breaded foodpieces which are meant to be subsequently fried. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,956,515 issued on May 11, 1976 to C. Moore et al. which describes starch batters that can be applied upon the surface of a food piece, breaded and frozen, and subsequently deep fat fried. The starch batters are composed of ungelatinized granular starches and granular cold-water swelling starches.
A growing trend to spend less time on food preparation has lead to a great demand for time-saving "ready-to-heat" frozen food products now on the market. The wide use of microwave ovens, now a standard feature in many homes and restaurants, has further led to reduction in cooking time spent by consumers. Many products cooked by means of microwaving or baking are indistinguishable from each other. Unfortunately, frozen pre-fried foodstuffs show strong differences when comparisons are made between final products which have been fried, baked and most particularly microwaved. Microwaved pre-fried products tend to be undesirably soggy, and as such, should not be recommended for microwaving.
It is generally known that batter mixes formulated to provide crispy fried products or pre-fried products which are to be later baked do not produce crispy pre-fried products if microwaved instead. There are at least two reasons for which the inferiority of the microwaved products may be attributed.
Firstly, the transfer of heat to a food piece during frying or baking is opposite that for microwaving. Microwave radiation cooks food pieces by heating the water contained therein which in turn acts to cook the entire piece. For this reason, it is often explained that microwave radiation cooks products from the interior outwards, resulting in the coating of a pre-fried piece being the last part to be cooked. During microwaving, the moisture in the food piece is driven outwards towards the surface, which can cause the food piece to become soggy. During frying or baking, on the other hand, the outer coating receives the most exposure to cooking temperatures while the interior receives the least, thus providing a crispy outer coating.
Secondly, food pieces which are cooked in the presence of hot fat or oil by frying are usually cooked at temperatures of at least 350.degree. F. (176.degree. C.) to about 425.degree. F. (218.degree. C.), preferably 375.degree.-395.degree. F. (190.degree.-202.degree. C.) which are sufficiently high to fry the food piece. It is recommended that pre-fried food pieces be oven baked at comparable frying temperatures so that residual oil, contained on the surface of all pre-fried foods, will continue to cook the food piece. Microwave ovens, on the other hand, are limited to a cooking temperature that does not exceed the boiling point of water and thus, the residual oil retained on a food piece after pre-frying will not continue to cook the piece.
Recent unsuccessful attempts have been made to prepare acceptable pre-fried frozen foodstuffs which remain crispy even when microwaved. Unfortunately such attempts have provided products which demand excessive microwave cooking times, yielding unappealing foodstuffs which are drastically case-hardened. Such products have very hard outer coatings which are difficult to bite or even cut with a knife and are therefore an extreme solution to the problem of soggy products.
Although a batter mix which provides a crispy pre-fried food piece after microwaving is desired, the mix must additionally provide other properties in order to obtain an acceptable product. For example, the interface between the batter coating and food piece after microwaving should preferably be undifferentiable. The crispness of a food piece becomes overshawdowed as the interface worsens by going from thin and dry to floury, bready and finally to pasty. Weepage is also an important concern. Fluid migration during freezing or microwaving due to gravity may result in the pooling of fluids on the underface of the product resulting in a product which is soggy beneath a crispy coating. The batter should also provide good adhesion and cohesion in order to sustain the pressure of moisture trying to escape during microwaving which can cause "blow outs" leaving a patchy coated food piece. Some batters produce a lacy uneven coating on food pieces. Such a trait is also undesirable because it leads to crumbly coatings. Additionally, the batter should provide a product with an acceptable and appealing final color.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a batter mix composition which may be used in the preparation of microwaveable frozen pre-fried foodstuffs which, when eventually cooked by microwaves provide a foodstuff with a crispy outer coating, a property which has recently found increased demand. None of the references mentioned above disclose or suggest the batter formulations of the present invention for use in providing crispy and appealing microwaveable pre-fried food pieces.